kathy003

We have Century Link for our internet and when we had a home phone, we had to use them also. Calling them mediocre is being nice. How I wish we had a different provider for our internet. We were thinking of changing to satellite, but I'm not sure that would be any better. 

We have Verizon for our cell phones. They are the only carrier that has a tower within 5 miles of us. The service is very patchy here. I never texted until I moved to the country, but it's the only way my family can contact me and I know I will get it. 

Good luck, good cell service is tricky to get. 

I wasn't sure where to post this, but since the show is about gardening, I thought this would be ok.

Has anyone seen the show on Netflix called The Urban Farmer? 

i have seen a few episodes and he has quite the set up. He does farm on other people's land, but he also uses his own. He seems to able to grow an awful lot of food in a very small space. And, he uses a network of hoops and greenhouses to extend his growing season. 

I am wondering, if anyone else has seen this show, what did you think of his set up and techniques?

My husband does most of the grocery shopping now, the other day he came home with Asparagus he bought for .90 a lb! Granted, I think it was at Walmart, but I'll take it! And he bought 30 lbs!

Looks like I have some canning to do tonight

This is excellent advice, I am sure I will be reviewing this in the coming year.

It's legal in Michigan for medicinal purposes. I have heard that our state police is not for legalizing pot anywhere in our state, for any reason. People have started opening up shops to sell the pot to people, in my area, if someone opens up a shop and they are not following the law to the letter of the law they will be shut down. In the last two years, 6 shops have been shut down around me. one of the shops got shut down, the owner got arrested, and as soon as he could, he opened back up. Turns out, he had his pot growing outside and it wasn't fully enclosed and that was his wrong doing. I'm still not sure he is in the clear, and if I know my area, he will be shut down again soon. 

 A few weeks ago I learned our local bowling alley is no longer going to be a bowling alley. It's going to become a dispensary for medical marijuana. An entire bowling alley. It was one of the last family friendly places within 20 miles of me. Of course, since I live pretty rural, there aren't a lot of options. 

My husband who passed away in 2014 had stomach cancer. He got his card and took CBD oil for the pain. It was the only thing that helped, so I'm not against it, but it has to have it's limits. I feel like these laws were passed with little to no oversight. The officials did not have a plan on how to regulate and enforce medical marijuana, when it was first passed in Michigan people  smoked it on the streets and obviously be high (medical marijuana is high in CBD so getting "high" should not happen). When the person was confronted by a police officer they would show them their card and be off the hook. They seem to have gotten a grip on that behavior, thank goodness. 

There needs to be more oversight on how the grower's manufacture their medical marijuana and how people get it. I don't know about other states, but here, it is very, very easy to get your card. 

 

We ordered shoes last week online. It took a week and a half to get them, which I thought was ok. My husband likes to order items online, which helps in the  cold weather. I can't say I enjoy going shopping, I usually go with a list and get it done as quickly as possible, but I don't like ordering online more. I like to see and touch what I am buying. I don't know if I will ever be able to adjust to shopping online. I know I am not the norm, but I really hate to see stores closing.

Happy New Year!

What a great list.

Thank you!

I had never heard of this before now, that is awesome!

Thank you for sharing

The CG,

I was thinking the same thing! 

I will be lifting you and your family up in prayer, I can't imagine how difficult this is for you and your family.

well, that review was disappointing. I had hoped to watch the show but forgot when it was on, and it sounds like i couldn't learn much.

I swear, someone on this site needs a tv show to show how it is really done!

Great job! Sounds like you are going to keep yourself busy! I never thought of canning as a craft,, but your right!

I had my canner for a few months before I used it. the first time, my husband had to stand by it,, it was kind of scary until I found out how it worked. Now, we both laugh at the experience.

Congrats on the nice, preservative free, healthy food!

Lumabean - I am sorry you had to have that experience. I have a child with a cognitive impairment, so i know the hurt and anguish that comes with a child, in this case my own child, treated unfairly. It used to make me mad when people would pick on my daughter. I found that it was the adults who are the cruelest, and those people's children are the ones to pick up on that negative behavior. The parents that took the time to explain what was going on to their children, those children tended to be the kindest, most compassionate kids.

That being said, I no longer get angry when people do that. In fact, I pray (most of the time) that The Lord softens their hearts and puts compassion in there. I do this because those people need it. When you have a child with a disability, the child ends up teaching you the most important things in life. Unconditional love, forgiveness, and how not to judge someone. I think the world would be a much kinder place if people learned from people who have disabilities. I have been to college and I have had 21 years of raising a child that has a disability. My daughter has taught me more about how to live than college ever did, or ever could.

Things like the behavior you saw will never completely stop. We just need to condition ourselves to pray for those people. Because they need it.

I believe he is right. My husband went through a quadruple bypass 3 years ago. I never imagined how the food bought at the store destroys our body. When he was in the hospital after surgery I was given a book about how his diet was supposed to be. I read it word for word. The Dietician came in. She briefly went over the book and was ready to leave. I asked her to wait because I had questions. She said the same thing the article says. Chicken soup was the biggest topic. Homemade canned Chicken soup is my husband's favorite. I forgot to tell her I made it from scratch and canned it myself. When she told me Chicken soup was terrible for him because of the sodium, I mentioned I canned it myself. This is when she became really involved in the conversation. She said as long as i cooked and baked like my Grandmother did, he would be fine and could eat almost anything.

After he got out of the hospital he was put on Cholesterol meds and had to have his levels taken for Cholesterol and triglycerides. It's true, you are what you eat. They wanted his around 150. During the first winter his was stable and he had good Cholesterol levels. Summertime we tend to be out more and,,, you guessed it,,, lots of canned food. That summer his triglycerides went from 150 to 300!

This article has great advice

I am already thinking of what I want to grow next year. Next year I want to concentrate on Aloe and Green tea plants.

If anyone has grown and dried their own Green Tea from a plant, do you have any suggestions or tips? I have been looking locally for the Green Tea plant, but no one seems to carry it. Looks like I am going to have to order online, any suggestions for good sites?

I met someone at the beginning of summer who was drying her green tea, but I don't really see her enough to get some advice.

I've been reading the message board on here,, looks like I missed alot over the summer! I need a day to catch up on all the good messages here!

I've noticed that also. They expire much quicker. Where we live it's hard to shop with coupons because by the time we get to a store for that product, it is no longer good. Stores around here don't double like where we used to live either.

I have noticed since I can a bigger variety of foods I don't rely on coupons so much, so maybe I'm not losing much anyway. I do like coupons for toilet paper etc.

That's great! Sounds like a very productive weekend!

I'm sorry about your Grandmother.

Great!! knitted washcloths are the things i seem to make the most, I get the yarn at garage sales,, saves a bundle!

I'm so glad you enjoyed your class

I hope your son is doing better. Good luck on the class, let us know how it goes.

How is your knitting class going? I do both, although I seem to knit more than I do quilts. I am glad you had the opportunity to do both, they are both so valuable to know how to do

How exciting for you! When I have breakthrough's like this it always gives me the mental energy to push forward and learn more.

I had no idea a person could freeze all these things! Time to reorganize my garden plans for next year and plan to freeze in addition to canning and my root cellar!

that sounds great! I can't wait for blueberry season here!